HOMEMADE QUEST BARS

By Kathy C.

http://purpology.com/2014/03/04/homemade-quest-bars/

For those of you who have never heard of a Quest bar, they are one of the newest stars on the protein bar market. The reason why everyone is raving over them is because they contain 20 grams of protein per bar, with almost 0 grams of sugar and packed full of fiber.

Often times, protein bars are simply just glorified candy bars because of all the added sugar required to make whey protein taste better. Quest bars have managed to keep the high protein content, while keeping sugars low without compromising their great taste.

This isn’t to say that there isn’t any sweetness to them, it’s just that they use low/no calorie sweeteners. The sugar substitute they use is called isomalto-oligosaccharide, which comes from starch and also contains lots of fiber. In addition, they also use small amounts of sucralose (aka. Splenda). These bars are great post-workout snacks that keep you full for a really long time.

While I love a Quest bar now and then, they are pretty pricey. A box of 12 bars costs around $30, a price that I’m not willing to pay regularly. However, recently I found a recipe that allows you to make your own homemade quest-like bars!

There are a few recipes that call for the isomalto-oligosaccharide, but I’m not willing to go hunting around for weird ingredients like that. So instead, I am sharing this recipe below because it uses pretty simple ingredients and can be modified to a myriad of different flavours!

Ingredients

• 4 Scoops of vanilla protein powder (about 1/3 cup a scoop)
• 1/4 cup nut or seed butter of choice
• 1/3 – 1/2 cup sweetener (like honey, agave, stevia, splenda, etc)
• 2-4 tbsp. water (if you feel you need it)
• 1/4 cup oat flour or fiber powder or even ground flaxseeds (Omit for lower carbs, best with)

Details

Servings 5
Adapted from purpology.com

Preparation

Step 1

In a large bowl, combine the protein powder, oat flour (if using), nut butter and sweetener together. If using stevia / splenda, you’ll need more water than if using honey or agave.
Scoop out the dough, shape into 5 bars and add to a sheet lined with parchment paper, refrigerate for 30-40 minutes to firm up.

Per bar (varies with protein powder):
Calories:160
Fat: 8
Protein: 20
Carbs: 11
Fiber: 5
Sugar: 2


Variations:

Vanilla Almond Crunch: Use almond butter, a tsp of vanilla and some chopped almonds.
Cinnamon Roll: add 1/2 tbsp. cinnamon and 1 tsp vanilla
Chocolate Brownie: add 2 tbsp. cocoa powder and use chocolate protein powder (not necessary)
Lemon Cream Pie: Use sunflower butter and 1 tbsp. lemon juice
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: add 1/4 – 1/3 cup chocolate chip and don’t omit oat flour
Peanut Butter Supreme: use peanut butter.
PB & J: Use peanut butter and 3-4 tbsp. mashed or dehydrated strawberries or 2 tbsp. jam.
Coconut Cashew: Use cashew butter and 2-5 tbsp. coconut shreds
Chocolate Peanut Butter: Use chocolate protein powder and peanut butter
Mixed Berry Bliss: use 1 tbsp. of each blue- rasp- black- and strawberries, mashed or dried.
White Chocolate Raspberry: Use 3-4 tbsp. mashed or dried raspberries or jam, and best with sunflower butter
Strawberry Cheesecake: 2-4 tbsp. mashed or dried strawberries or jam, 2 tbsp. cream cheese.
Banana Nut Muffin: Use 1/2 mashed banana and 2-4 tbsp. crushed nuts.